Sweet and Savory Sauces from Mexican Chocolate

ice_cream_sauce_19The most readily available chocolate in Mexico is sweet, grainy chocolate intended for drinking.  Since so many cruisers crave chocolate, I set out to see what we could do using Mexican chocolate.  Common brands are Ibarra, Abuelita, and Don Gustavo.

Flavored Dessert Sauces

The first sauce I tried combined chocolate with a mild orange flavor:

  • 3 disks Mexican drinking chocolate (about 9 ounces)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 ½ tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, optional (in Mexico, the common brand is Controy)

Coarsely chop the chocolate and add it to a small saucepan with the water and liqueur, if using.  Bring to a boil, stirring to fully dissolve the chocolate.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes to slightly thicken the sauce.  It will thicken a little more as it cools, but will remain liquid.  Use immediately or store in the fridge.

The second sauce was inspired by leftover coffee:

  • 3 disks Mexican drinking chocolate (about 9 ounces)
  • 1 cup leftover coffee
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Kahlua, optional

Prepare as shown in the recipe above.  The coffee taste is mild, but you could enhance it with espresso powder, if you happen to have some.

Both sauces remained a bit grainy, but were perfectly acceptable dessert sauces.  We enjoyed rare ice cream sundaes aboard Legacy – all in the interest of research, of course!  I still found that I was craving something smoother and fudgier, so I tried a different approach.  This time, I used powdered Mexican chocolate, since that is all that was available in nearby tiendas.

Fudge Sauce

  • 1 disk Mexican drinking chocolate (finely chopped) or 3 ounces powdered Mexican drinking chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ¼ cup half and half or cream
  • Pinch of salt (optional)

Melt the butter in a small pan or skillet, then add the cream.  Stir in the chocolate and stir until it melts.  Continue stirring over low heat until the sauce is smooth and thick.  Season to taste with a pinch of salt or a splash of liqueur, if desired.

This sauce still had detectable graininess, but the added fat gave it a much nicer “mouth feel”.  The recipe makes a small amount – just enough for a couple of sundaes – but can be easily doubled or tripled.  All of these sauces can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  The fudge sauce gets quite thick in the fridge, but is easily thinned out by warming it a bit.

chocolate_chipotle_sauce_34Savory Chocolate-Chipotle Sauce 

The sweet chocolate sauces were good, but we decided to expand our horizons and try a savory, spicy chocolate sauce.  We made this chocolate-chipotle sauce to go with chicken breasts, but it would be equally good with pork chops or loin.

First, salt and pepper boneless chicken breasts, then sauté in a little hot oil in a skillet until they are lightly browned and cooked through (about 165 degrees).  Remove the cooked chicken breasts to a plate, and cover to keep them warm.  After letting the skillet cool for a few minutes, pour off excess oil (if necessary) and add about 2 tablespoons of half and half or heavy cream.  Return skillet to low heat and stir to deglaze the pan.  Finely chop or grate one 3-ounce disc of Mexican drinking chocolate, add to the cream and stir until melted. Add seasonings to taste.  We started with ¼ teaspoon each of salt, ground chipotle, smoked paprika, cumin, and sriracha sauce.  Make the sauce a little spicier than you are normally comfortable with, as the seasoning will be toned down by the chicken.  Feel free to use other chiles and different seasonings depending on what you have on hand.  The goal is to add both heat and some depth of flavor to counteract the sweetness of the drinking chocolate.

Serve chicken breasts over rice, if desired, and top with the chocolate-chipotle sauce.  Enjoy!

Dessert Sauces Illustrated

The traditional package for disks of Mexican drinking chocolate.

The traditional package for disks of Mexican drinking chocolate.

Inner package and disk of Mexican drinking chocolate.

Inner package and disk of Mexican drinking chocolate.

Ingredients for the coffee-Kahlua chocolate sauce.

Ingredients for the coffee-Kahlua chocolate sauce.

The hard drinking chocolate disks are easily chopped into rough chunks.

The hard drinking chocolate disks are easily chopped into rough chunks.

Measuring the Kahlua for the sauce.

Measuring the Kahlua for the sauce.

 

The chocolate melts easily in a pan with the liquid ingredients.

The chocolate melts easily in a pan with the liquid ingredients.

Mexican orange liquor - Controy

Mexican orange liquor – Controy

The grittiness of the drinking chocolate is evident over ice cream.

The grittiness of the drinking chocolate is evident over ice cream.

Mexican drinking Chocolate also comes in powdered form.

Mexican drinking Chocolate also comes in powdered form.

Chocolate-Chipotle Sauce Illustrated

Chicken breast browned in the same pan used for the sauce add flavor and richness.

Chicken breasts browned in the same pan used for the sauce add flavor and richness.

A disk of drinking chocolate can e grated directly into the pan with the other ingredients for the sauce.

A disk of drinking chocolate can be grated directly into the pan with the other ingredients for the sauce.

The sauce takes on a smooth consistency as the chocolate melts.

The sauce takes on a smooth consistency as the chocolate melts.

Every cook likes an appreciative audience!

Every cook likes an appreciative audience!

This entry was posted in Desserts, Main Dishes, Recipes. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply